Equitable and Inclusive (Classroom-Based) Foreign Language Assessment Using Universal Design for Learning

2022 ◽  
pp. 117-136
Author(s):  
Karin Vogt
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Universal Design ◽  
Universal Design For Learning ◽  
Language Assessment ◽  
Inclusive Classroom ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Design For Learning ◽  
Diverse Learner

In increasingly diverse learner groups, it must be ensured that foreign language learners can reach their full potential, so diverse learner needs have to be catered to in teaching and in assessment contexts. Providing accessibility of learning, teaching, and assessment is a matter of equity and has increasingly been embraced as a principle of foreign language assessment. However, accessibility of language assessment has often been seen as a retrospective accommodation rather than a flexible planning of language assessment from the start. The purpose of the chapter is to discuss the potential of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) for (planning) classroom-based language assessment (CBLA) procedures in order to foster equitable and inclusive language assessment. After clarifying relevant terms, the notion of accessibility will be applied to foreign language assessment. UDL as a flexible framework for individualized language learning will be presented and illustrated for a foreign language context before its potential for classroom-based learning assessment (CBLA) is discussed and exemplified.

scholarly journals Universal Design for Learning in Assessment: Supporting ELLs with Learning Disabilities

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-91
Author(s):  
Thomas A. Delaney ◽  
Maiko Hata
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
English Language ◽  
Universal Design ◽  
Universal Design For Learning ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
World Population ◽  
Design For Learning

Studying English is challenging and, for many learners, undiagnosed learning disabilities can present a serious threat to their success. Recent studies indicate that up to 10% of the world population has a non-apparent disability, such as autism or dyslexia. At the same time, few English language learner (ELL) instructors in higher education have training in learning disabilities, and they are often unsure of how to support learners who seem to have extra challenges. This is especially true when it comes to assessment, as instructors often rely on traditional tools that could negatively affect the validity of the assessment outcomes. In this brief reflection, the authors share how instructors can apply the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to their assessment practices to support students with disabilities, regardless of diagnostic status. First, disabilities that affect language learning will be briefly discussed, followed by the explanation of how English to speakers of other languages (ESOL) assessments present specific challenges for students with disabilities. Then, the authors will provide an overview of UDL theory, which proposes that learners with disabilities are often best served by accommodations in representation, expression and engagement that can benefit the entire class. Most of the paper will focus on specific, practical strategies for implementing UDL within assessment in higher education. Such strategies include building executive function, implementing multi-channel assessment, and learning about students through an “evaluation loop.”

scholarly journals Learning with Lessened Limitations

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda Llewellyn Ihssen
Keyword(s):  
Universal Design ◽  
Universal Design For Learning ◽  
Multiple Identities ◽  
Inclusive Classroom ◽  
Design For Learning ◽  
Support Students ◽  
Taking Responsibility

This essay explores how one enlisting the spirit of the “Choose Your Own Adventure” approach to accepting major papers or projects might support students who are learning to take agency and understand themselves as political negotiators in the classroom and in their own learning. To that end, this essay will first briefly explore the method of Universal Design for Learning in the classroom, and then survey how dedication to an inclusive classroom can assist and encourage students of multiple identities in taking responsibility for the management of their own time and their learning.

Digital Tools for the Inclusive Classroom: Google Chrome as Assistive and Instructional Technology

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 204-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Min Wook Ok ◽  
Kavita Rao
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Technology ◽  
Universal Design ◽  
Universal Design For Learning ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Digital Tools ◽  
Inclusive Classroom ◽  
Organizational Skills ◽  
Inclusive Settings ◽  
Design For Learning

The Google Chrome browser, widely available on computers today, has a variety of free and low-cost apps and extensions that can benefit all students in inclusive classroom settings. Using apps and extensions readily available for the Google Chrome browser, teachers have access to assistive tools that can be useful learning supports for students with and without disabilities. There are apps and extensions available to support literacy, mathematics, and organizational skills. Using these tools, teachers can provide multiple means of representation, expression, and engagement in alignment with Universal Design for Learning guidelines. This article describes how Chrome apps and extensions can be used to support literacy, mathematics, organization, and planning in inclusive settings.

Adapting English as a Foreign Language classes to the needs of students with hearing impairments in early elementary education

2018 ◽  
Vol LXXIX (1) ◽  
pp. 12-20
Author(s):  
Ewa Domagała-Zyśk
Keyword(s):  
Elementary Education ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Universal Design ◽  
Universal Design For Learning ◽  
Instructional Materials ◽  
Early Elementary ◽  
Hearing Impairments ◽  
Teaching Resources ◽  
Language Classes ◽  
Design For Learning

Increasingly, deaf and hard-of-hearing students are attending mainstream and integrated schools. It is necessary to provide a number of adaptations, sometimes modifications, of the teacher’s instructional methods and forms for their education to be effective. The purpose of this article is to discuss the issue of adapting English as a Foreign Language classes in early elementary education to the needs of students with hearing impairments. Effective education in this area requires syllabuses, textbooks, and teaching resources that are developed in accordance with the principles of universal design for learning and then necessary adaptations and modifications that are planned on an individual basis following children’s needs and abilities. The author suggests the principles of universal design for learning according to which foreign language instruction for students with hearing impairments should be planned. Due to the internal diversity of this group of students, not only methodological procedures should be individualized but also instructional forms and methods used during English classes as well as the methods of presenting instructional materials by the teacher or other students. In order to optimize the reception and transmission of content, appropriate external conditions that are adapted to individual students’ perceptual and performance abilities need to be provided. Also, the diversity of ways in which students with hearing impairments present their knowledge and thus actively participate in classes is pointed out. Suggesting different adaptations, the author emphasizes the need to take care that instructional materials maintain their full substantive value.

scholarly journals Applying Universal Design for Learning to Center for English as a Second Language

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karwan Kakabra Kakamad ◽  
Zana Hasan Babakr ◽  
Pakstan Faiq Mohamedami
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
English Language ◽  
Universal Design ◽  
Universal Design For Learning ◽  
Learning Goals ◽  
Design For Learning ◽  
The University ◽  
Goals And Objectives ◽  
Quantitative And Qualitative Methods

This paper investigated the possibility of applying Universal Design for English Language Learning. Throughout the paper, both quantitative and qualitative methods were used for data collection. The students were first asked to critique the ESL program using a methodology created by Paulo Freire to ascertain how much freedom students have in creating their learning environments and establishing their own learning goals and objectives. The results showed that the majority of students rated the ESL program very low regarding their ability to influence the program's curriculum materials or learning outcomes. Moreover, the research shows that the majority of students did not believe they were adequately prepared for graduate-level studies in the University upon completion of the ESL program. As a result of these findings, several recommendations are made about creating more opportunities for individual students to use UDL principles to control their learning environments and establish their own learning goals and objectives.

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